1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a conveyor belt assembly for transporting products, particularly pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and food products. More specifically, this invention relates to a conveyor belt assembly comprising a unique profile that provides for easy cleaning and an internal channel for passing wires, hoses and cables to maintain a clean, safe and hazard free system.
2. Description of Prior Art
Conveyor belt assemblies, also known as table top conveyors, are often used in the processing and packaging of products in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and food industries. These conveyors are particularly useful to fill packages, such as bottle and boxes, with products, such as pills, tablets, powders, foods and liquids.
Known conveyors generally comprise an upside-down U-shaped frame with two side support members running parallel to each other and two top surfaces connected to each other to create a hood with a channel between. A chain-type conveyor belt is supported on the hood of the U-shaped frame with a spine of the conveyor belt positioned in the channel.
These known conveyor belt systems are often operated at high rates of speed often causing the conveyor belt to vibrate and the products to be spilled onto the conveyor belt, especially during the process of filling the containers. The spilled product lands on the chain conveyor belt and falls through the gaps between the links and becomes trapped between the hood of the frame and the conveyor belt. Additionally, some of the spilt product can pass through the channel in the top of the frame and into the area under the frame, landing on the conveyor belt return and other components positioned within the frame. The spilled product can damage the machine and/or cause the conveyor belt to wear prematurely. Furthermore, spilt product can be difficult to remove and may require a thorough clean-up that includes removing the conveyor belt from the assembly. Cleaning the conveyor belt assembly in this way can be very time consuming and cause an operator to incur additional unnecessary costs.
Because of concerns of product falling through the conveyor belt and through the frame assembly, known conveyor belt assemblies generally position a drive system for the conveyor belt outside of the frame assembly or separate from the conveyor belt assembly to prevent damage to the drive system. With the drive system positioned on an outside of the frame assembly, a chain guard is required to protect the operator from the drive chain. The drive system and the chain guard positioned on the outside of the frame assembly increases the footprint of the conveyor belt assembly and makes side transfers to another conveyor belt or other equipment more difficult.
As such, there is a need for a conveyor belt assembly that minimizes the short-comings of known conveyor belt systems.